Thinking globally and acting locally isn’t as easy as it sounds

This article is written by Victoria Camp, transformation manager at Caerphilly County Borough Council

I have had a very fortunate career so far. It’s been my privilege to work for some truly excellent organisations, to have had the opportunity to work in London and the South East, and to now be working in Wales for two local authorities.

I consider myself a global citizen. I read world news, I have a family who live overseas, and I’ve been amazingly lucky to be able to travel for my job. As a public servant, I want to fix the global problems we face, from climate change and institutional exclusion, to various shades of deprivation.

Yet, there is a natural rub between the global and the local mentality which we as public servants arguably have a duty to resolve. Right now, many of us are contemplating new long-term ways of working. Many of these don’t involve having to commute into a city, and point to spending more time at home. So as I’m thinking about what that means for me, personally and professionally, I thought I’d share with you my thoughts.

Let me start by describing how I viewed myself differently as a citizen and public servant as I moved between three different locations, each one progressively smaller and more insular than that which came before.

The London life

Between 2004 and 2014, I lived and worked in the English capital city of London. Life and work there was pretty much as you’d expect: busy, competitive, focused and ambitious. London is one of the most diverse melting pots in the world. It provided me with some of the best experiences I could ever have wished for to help get my career started. Everyday doings in London felt so huge, so complex, so important.

As public servants we often struggle to find that balance between making good local decisions that benefit communities and those which tackle some of the bigger global issues we face as diverse occupants of those same communities.

But London is not Disneyland. It can also be a scary and alienating place. In large cities, moral choices are often as much a matter of taste as meal choices. At work I saw office affairs develop openly that went unchallenged. Yet, despite their progressive values around commitment, many of the people I worked with eventually had to make hard choices around work and family. I too became a mother not long before the 2011 London riots, and I have never felt so unsafe as I did then.

Narrower horizons, closer communities

What these experiences left me with was a yearning to create change alongside a variety of people, but in a way that fostered a sense of community. As public servants we often struggle to find that balance between making good local decisions that benefit communities and those which tackle some of the bigger global issues we face as diverse occupants of those same communities.

In 2014 I moved to Essex, which — though more rural than London — is similar to it, in that it is a fairly diverse and fast-paced place. At the council I worked for there, a business-like model of decision making was in full play. This made its operations very factual, very structured and with just the right amount of consultation sought in just the right way. Daily conveniences and courtesies were a mixed bag meanwhile. I could pay for everything with my card (even parking), though people didn’t move for prams as readily as they did in the big city.

London, Essex, Wales, wherever, I think we are all in some way facing similar issues and I think the best balance would be to learn from each other.

And then I moved to Caerphilly in Wales, which is where I’m based now. To be honest, I am still adjusting. Caerphilly is much more of a monoculture than either London or Essex. Church is now the only place I mix with people who have darker skin or who dress differently to me. I’ve met many people who do not own passports, and so have never left Wales. Some of them have not even travelled beyond their valley.

No more am I tapping through every transaction with the world either. Cash is premium in Wales, but more importantly, so are people. Family means more here than it does in London. We have actual legislation here designed to make us think about future generations. This partly explains why Wales is a world-class performer in recycling. During the Covid-19 pandemic, I’ve seen public spirit and pride in community greater than I’ve seen anywhere in my entire life. The depth of public service in Wales goes far beyond those employed by the local authority. The Welsh are a people who care: for themselves, for each other and for their children.

Global vs. local

I might be adding two and two and getting five, but I see the need to support individual local people as being a barrier to good global decision making in Wales at times. Instead of making the right decision which may impact negatively on a few people we might see decisions not being made. Decisions can also be really difficult, convoluted and expensive. The intent is to be able to deliver to every single individual.

I’ve seen what distinguishes public service at the global and local level, but two areas in which this is perhaps easiest to notice are climate change and inclusion.

To focus on climate change, most councils have agreed there is a climate emergency, and most are trying to do something to fix it. Yet many are struggling with targets, budgets, processes and occasionally people who struggle to see beyond the end of their garden.

I don’t want a wind turbine in the field behind my house because I don’t want to look at it. We can’t expect people to share electric vehicle charging points. We want to use more renewable energy sources, and we want to buy everything from a five-mile radius to support local businesses.

How can we balance those competing priorities when we are in an emergency situation? I don’t have the answer. I just do my best to hear all sides and try to balance local needs with global needs and tread the middle ground, hard though that is.

Bridging the gap

London, Essex, Wales, wherever, I think we are all in some way facing similar issues and I think the best balance would be to learn from each other. Deciding everything based on data and evidence is cold, harsh and can lead to further inequality. Yet not deciding anything or spending so long trying to find individualised solutions also misses the mark in trying to solve some of the wider more global issues.

What can we do? Listen and learn from each other and acknowledge that every decision we make, no matter how small, has the power to create meaningful change. We just need to be mindful of exactly who that change will impact so we can continue to chip away at the really thorny issues we are trying to wrangle with today.

Picture credit: cferdo (Unsplash)